This volume focuses on Jewish, Arab, non-Latin European, Asian, and Latin American immigrants and their experiences in their “new” homes. Rejecting exceptionalist and homogenizing tendencies within immigration history, contributors advocate instead an approach that emphasizes the locally- and nationally-embedded nature of ethnic identification.

Looking at refugee protection in Latin America, this landmark edited collection assesses what the region has achieved in recent years. It analyses Latin America’s main documents in refugee protection, evaluates the particular aspects of different regimes, and reviews their emergence, development and effect, to develop understanding of refugee protection in the region. Drawing from multidisciplinary texts from both leading academics and practitioners, this comprehensive, innovative and highly topical book adopts an analytical framework to understand and improve Latin America’s protection of refugees.

The political upheaval in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala had a devastating human toll at the end of the twentieth century. A quarter of a million people died during the period 1974-1996. Many of those who survived the wars chose temporary refuge in neighboring countries such as Honduras and Costa Rica. Others traveled far north, to Mexico, the United States, and Canada in search of safety. Over two million of those who fled Central America during this period settled in these three countries. In this incisive book, María Cristina García tells the story of that migration and how domestic and foreign policy interests shaped the asylum policies of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. She describes the experiences of the individuals and non-governmental organizations—primarily church groups and human rights organizations—that responded to the refugee crisis, and worked within and across borders to shape refugee policy. These transnational advocacy networks collected testimonies, documented the abuses of states, re-framed national debates about immigration, pressed for changes in policy, and ultimately provided a voice for the displaced. García concludes by addressing the legacies of the Central American refugee crisis, especially recent attempts to coordinate a regional response to the unique problems presented by immigrants and refugees—and the challenges of coordinating such a regional response in the post-9/11 era.

Refugees and their protection have started to be a part of daily conversation in recent years. New flows from Africa to Europe, new crisis in Asia and in the Americas, and record numbers since the Second World War, for instance, have paved the way for news reports in the media, political discourses on the topic and debates on how to actually protect these persons. In a world scenario of increasingly (i) closed borders, (ii) association of migration to security issues, (iii) lack of political will to ascertain human rights and (iv) disregard for migration as a right in se, the challenges on and for refugees’ protection have been progressing; as have the need for international protection of persons fleeing well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership to a social group, i.e. refugees. Regional approaches and national practices gain relevance, especially if they can be seen as good practices, even if not without flaws. “What are the main challenges and opportunities regarding Refugee Protection in Latin America and in Brazil? The book offers a very convincing response. The essays by Liliana Jubilut reflect rigorous academic research and years of practical experience on supporting asylum seekers and refugees. The author is certainly one of the most influential scholars in Brazil working in the Forced Migration field, and the essays provide a comprehensive view of Refugee Protection in Brazil and Latin America”. – Gabriel Gualano de Godoy, PhD, UNHCR Chief of Mission in the Dominican Republic and former Head of UNHCR Protection Unit in Brazil. “This book shed clear lights on the development of refugee protection in Latin America for the years to come. Liliana Jubilut is already a leading scholar on refugee protection in Latin America and her articles reflect a long myriad of issues related to refugee protection, since status determination, resettlement, local integration and the remarkable humanitarian visas for the Syrian refugees. She shows the developments and setbacks and recover the most important developments since the Cartagena Declaration with a sharp eye and historical perspective. This book will soon become an essential bibliography for anyone trying to understand the particular and innovative refugee protection initiatives in this troubled but generous region”. – Wellington Pereira Carneiro, PhD, UNHCR Senior Official (having worked in Brazil and Colombia for UNHCR and in Panama prior to joining the UN)

This book discusses African migration and the refugee crisis. Economic, political and social tension in the Middle East and in many parts of the Global South has induced historic mass migration across national and international borders. The situation is especially dire in Africa, where a sizable number of Africans have chosen or have been forced to leave their countries of origin for Europe and North America. Written by an international team of scholars, this edited book traces the refugee crisis around the world, telling the necessary story of forced migration, intentional exclusion, and human insecurity from an Afrocentric lens. The volume is divided into three sections. Section I places African migration within the broader contexts of international history, law, economics, and policy. Section II discusses cases of African migration to Europe, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. Section III considers negative consequences of mass African migration, including the restriction and criminalization of migration, post-traumatic stress disorder, and gender-based violence. A compelling account of risk, resilience, and global power dynamics, this volume will be useful to students and researchers interested in African studies, migration, peace and conflict studies, and policy as well as professionals, practitioners, NGOs, IGOs, governmental and humanitarian organizations.

The Nicaraguan revolution of 1978 and the subsequent violence engulfing the Central American states, causes mass migration of Latin American persons seeking territorial asylum. Latin American States and Political Refugees focuses on the questions surrounding this new problem of refugees. Yundt uses regime analysis, a method whereby principles, norms, and social institutions are studied to identify the general obligations due refugees. The central concern of this study is whether the regional rules, norms, procedures and social institutions established by the Latin American states in governing political refugees, are compatible with or dissimilar to those of the established United Nations refugees regime. This scholarly written and well researched book will appeal to students and scholars of international organizations, international refugee and human rights law, as well as all the social and political sciences. Yundt begins his study with an explanation of the meaning of 'regime'; What is a regime analysis? This book examines the history and current status of colonization and immigration legislation in Central and South America. Further chapters discuss the role of international organizations, including the League of Nations and the organization of American states, in providing international legal protection to refugees. The study also explores the global refugee regime; its history and how it relates to the inter-American system.